We Shall Fight on the Beaches 翻译

We Shall Fight on the Beaches

Winston Churchill

1 The whole question of home defense against invasion is, of course, powerfully affected by the fact that we have for the time being in this Island incomparably more powerful military forces than we have ever had at any moment in this war or the last. But this will not continue. We shall not be content with a defensive war. We have our duty to our Ally. We have to reconstitute and build up the British Expeditionary Force once again, under its gallant Commander-in-Chief, Lord Gort. All this is in train; but in the interval we must put our defenses in this Island into such a high state of organization that the fewest possible numbers will be required to give effective security and that the largest possible potential of offensive effort may be realized...

2 We have found it necessary to take measures of increasing stringency, not only against enemy aliens and suspicious characters of other nationalities, but also against British subjects who may become a danger or a nuisance should the war be transported to the United Kingdom. I know there are a great many people affected by the orders which we have made who are the passionate enemies of Nazi Germany. I am very sorry for them, but we cannot, at the present time and under the present stress, draw all the distinctions which we should like to do. If parachute landings were attempted and fierce fighting attendant upon them followed, these unfortunate people would be far better out of the way, for their own sakes as well as for ours. There is, however, another class, for which I feel not the slightest sympathy. Parliament has given us the powers to put down Fifth Column activities with a strong hand, and we shall use those powers subject to the supervision and correction of the House, without the slightest hesitation until we are satisfied, and more than satisfied, that this malignancy in our midst has been effectively stamped out.

3 Turning once again, and this time more generally, to the question of invasion, I would observe that there has never been a period in all these long centuries of which we boast when an absolute guarantee against invasion, still less against serious raids, could have been given to our people. In the days of Napoleon the same wind which would have carried his transports across the Channel might have driven away the blockading fleet. There was always the chance, and it is that chance which has excited and befooled the imaginations of many Continental tyrants. Many are the tales that are told. We are assured that novel methods will be adopted, and when we see the originality of malice, the ingenuity of aggression, which our enemy displays, we may certainly prepare ourselves for every kind of novel stratagem and every kind of brutal and treacherous maneuver. I think that no idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered and viewed with a searching, but at the same time, I hope, with a steady eye. We must never forget the solid assurances of sea power and those which belong to air power if it can be locally exercised.

4 I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government —every man of them. That is the will of Parliament

and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

我们将战斗在海滩上

温斯顿·丘吉尔

1 我们目前在岛内拥有的兵力比这次大战中或上次大战中任何时候都强大得多，这当然会极大地影响着本土防卫抵御入侵的整个态势。但这一局面不会这样继续下去。我们不能满足于能打防御战。我们对我们的盟国负有义务。我们必须重新组织、重新建立在英勇的总司令戈特勋爵指挥下的英国远征军。这一切都在进行中；但是在这一间歇时段，我们必须使岛内的防御达到一种高度的组织水平，即只需极少数的兵员便可有效地保障安全，同时又具备最大的攻势潜力……

2 我们认为，如果战场转移到英国，则有必要针对敌国公民和拥有他国国籍的可疑人物以及有可能构成危险和麻烦的英国臣民采取日益严格的措施。我知道，在受我们政令影响的人当中，有许多人对纳粹德国深恶痛绝。我对他们深表歉意，但在当前这个时刻和现时的压力下，我们无法按我们的愿望进行全面甄别。如果敌军伞兵着陆，并随之发生激烈战斗，这些不幸的人们还是事先避让为好。这对我们和他们都有利。然而，还有一种人，我对他们毫不同情。国会已经授权我们铁腕镇压第五纵队的活动，我们将在议会的监督和纠正下毫不迟疑地运用这些授权，直到我们完全确信，隐藏在我们当中的险恶势力被有效根除。

3 我再来更为广泛地谈谈敌军入侵这个问题。我要说，在这么多世纪的漫长岁月里，我们从来都没有自吹自擂说我们能绝对担保我们的国民不受任何入侵，更不要说不受任何重大突袭。在拿破仑时代，海上的大风，既能将他的运输舰队吹过英吉利海峡，也能驱散封锁海面的舰队。这种可能总是有的。正是这种可能性激起许多欧洲大陆的暴君的想象，也使他们的想象沦为笑柄。这样的事例不在少数。我们确信，敌人将采用前所未有的策略。面对我们的敌人所展现的新颖的作恶手段和高明的侵略伎俩，我们当然应该做好准备，随时应对各种新花招、各种凶残阴险的计谋。在我看来，所有的奇思妙想无一例外地都应以敏锐而又平和的眼光加以考虑和审视。我们必须牢记海军的坚实后盾，还有那些属于空军的坚实后盾，如果空军力量能在局部得以施展的话。

4 如果所有人都忠于职守，如果我们的工作不出纰漏，事事都像现在这样安排周密，那么，我自己是充满信心的。我们将又一次证明我们能够保卫我们的岛国家乡，我们能够在战争的

风暴中胜出，经受住专制的威胁，如有必要，我们就一年一年打下去，如有必要，就孤军作战。无论如何，这就是我们努力要做的。这就是英王政府每一个成员的决心。这就是议会和全国国民的意愿。由共同的事业和共同的需要连在一起的英帝国和法兰西共和国，将誓死保卫自己的本土，将亲如同志，尽一切力量相互支持。虽然欧洲的大片土地和许多有名的古国已经或可能即将沦陷于盖世太保及一切可憎的纳粹统治的机器之下，我们决不会软弱，决不会失败。我们将坚持到底，我们将在法国国土上作战，我们将在海洋上作战，我们将在空中愈战愈有信心，愈战愈强。我们将不惜任何代价保卫我们的岛国，我们将在海滩上作战，在登陆地点作战，在田野和街头作战，在山岭作战。我们永不投降，即使整个英伦本岛或大部分土地被占，我们挨饿受饥——这一点我认为是绝不可能的——我们大英帝国的海外领地，在英国舰队的武装和保护下，将继续战斗下去，直到上帝认为适当的时候，新大陆将挺身而出，以其全部力量支援旧世界，解放旧世界。